Compressed-air well pump



T. T E N N E B c R.

COMPRESS-ED AIR WELL PUMP Filed April 21, 1928 Patented Oct. 1, 1929UNITED STATES -1 nri=iNTorme ROGER U.` BENNETT, OF SEMINOLE,OKLAHOllI-A, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T FRANCIS T. PATTERSON, OE SEMINOLE,OKLAHOMA COMPRESSED-ATR WELL TUM? Appntion mea April 21,

This invention relates to pumping mechanisms used principally inwithdrawing oil from oilwells, the mechanism being of that characterwherein there is a displacement space or area having an inlet and anout-' the motive iiuid or iuid pressure is dis` p charged into thedisplacement area.

A further object is to provide means for directing the fluid underpressure against, the valve, which valve acts to prevent the fluid underpressure exerting any pressure up on the sands so as to thus keep thisvalve cleaned oi.

A still further object is to provide a very simple but effectivemechanism for this purpose having few and very simple parts so thatthere will be the least possible chance of this mechanism getting out oforder.

Another object is to provide a construction of this kind having a valvepreventing the fluid pressure from exerting pressure upon the sands, andprovide a'piston for the valve operable under Huid pressure, t-he pistonacting first to close the valve and then acting as a valve itself toopen the by-pass, permitting. fluid pressure to pass down around thepiston and be discharged into the displacement area. l

Other objects willappear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein lFigure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View of the casing ofan oil well, amotive f iuid tube, and my improved regulatingvalve, the

valvebeing shown in its open position;

Figure 2 is a like view to Figure 1 but showing the valve in its closedposition and the piston depressed'. -V

Referring to this drawing, 10 designates a well casing and 11 aninterior tubing formed 192s. serial No. 271,846.

of sections connected by collars ,l 12. This tubing at one point in itslength'is provided with openings 13, these being located below a packer14 and the packer being of any suitable character and extending betweenthe tubing l1 and the casing wall 10. I The tube l1 adjacent one end isprovided with an annular piston stop 14 and below this with an' exteriorsleeve 16, apertures 17 extending from the interior of the tube 11 intothe upper portion of said sleeve and apertures 18 connectingbetween-the`interior 0f the tube 11 and the interior of the sleeve.

Disposed a distance below the sleeve isa valve seat 19 and just abovethis valve seat the tube 11 is apertured, as at 20.- Disposed within thetube 11 between the sleeve 16 and the valve seat are the spiders 21 and22. Disposed within the tube4 ll'adjacent the piston stop 14 isa piston23, the upper end-` of which -is beveled so as to seat against the stop14. This piston has a tubular stem 24 which extends down through thespiders 21 and 22. 'Extending downward through the piston 23 and throughits tubular stem is ar valve stem 25 having a nut 26 at its upper endbearing against the upper end of the piston and at its lower endprovided with a conical valve I'27, this valve coacting with the seat 19and seating thereagainst when the valve is lowered.

Disposed to surround the tubular stem of the piston and disposed betweenthe under face of the piston 2 3 and the spider 214is a coiledcompression spring 28 which urges the piston upward and thus urges thevalve upward, the piston bearing against' the nut 26 under thesecircumstances. Surroundingl the lower end of the valve stem 25 is acoiled compression spring 29 which bears at one end against the valveand at the other end against a fiange or head 8O formed upon the lowerend of the tubular piston stem. Thus any downward movement of the pistonstemwill iirst act to compress the spring 29 and when the spring 29' hasbeen compressed to a proper degree the valve will move with, the piston.v y

Inthe operation of the mechanism, the upper end of the tube 11 is to beconnected to Qany suitable source of constant lluid pressure. This maybe, for instance, gas or air `under pressure but preferably will becompressed air. raised, closes the ports or perforations 17 so that thefluid pressure can only bear against the upper contracted end of thepiston;

When the air or gas is forced down the tube 11 under suilicientpressure, it will force the plunger 23 down againstthe action of the..spring 28. The downward-movement of the tubular piston stem 24willcause' the ctliig l.. strength that the valve 27 will move down:

pressionvor spring 29, which is of s,"

V immediately that the piston. moves downward and the valve will seatagainst the seat.

19, thus cutting od all communication'be# vtweenthe upper end of thetube 11 and the` lower end thereof.'

A further downward movement of the piston under the pressure of the air.will open the ports 17, as'shown in vFigure 2, and the compressed air orother motive fluid will pass out through the -ports 17, downward 25around the by-pass sleeve 16, through the ports 18 into the tube 11below. the piston,

downward through the spiders 21 and 22, and out through the ports 20,the valve 27 being closed and preventing any further down-1' 3o wardmovement of the motive fluid. Mo-jv tive fluid will thus pass intothevdis lace` ment area A, which is previouslyiille with o il, andV willrise or rush upward, carrying with it the oilina well known manner.

As soon as the pressure has been reduced 'beyond a certain point andbefore the oil has been pumped out and pressure reduced, the spring 28will cause the piston valveto move rearward, closing the port 17, andeventual-- ly the piston valve strikes the nut 26er stop, vlifting thevalve stem and the valve from the position'shown in Figure 2 to theosition shown in Figure 1. Oil will then ow up ward intothe lowerportion of the pipe 11 -by means of the ports 13 and flow through theseat 19v and apertures 20 into the displacement space A. When thedisplacenrientv space has been filled the operation isrepeated.

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It willl be noted that in my construction the'piston lirst acts to closethe valve and then continues to travel downward so as to open theby-pass and permit the passage oi motive fluid down the tube 11 andintothe displacement area, and attention is directed to the fact thatthe ports 20 are located so close to the valve 27 that the motive fluid,moving down swiftl under pressure cleanses the valve of irt and foreignmatter so as to keep the valve in proper condition to seat at all times.When valve 27v is closed, the pressure on the motive y fluid cannot betransmitted to the oil sands The piston 23, when it is back pressure atanytimeupon the oil sands.l

an upward movement of the piston, air -is I claim; y

1. In a pump adapted tobe associated withl a displacement zonehaving'a'liquid inlet and.

liquid outlet a tubular'member having a valve seat and having an inletbelowgtheivalve seat kand anjoutlet above the valve seat, theoutlet'--discharging into said displacement zone, 'a valve' engageable withvsaid Aseatyapiston" mounted within the tubular member above the valve,isa stem extending from the valve and` sliding through said piston andhaving a stop on its outer endbeyond the piston, a spring 1 urging .thepiston to a raised position and the valve from its seat, a yieldableconnecltion between the piston and the valve permitting the piston tomove after the valve has seated to cause the inward movement of'thepiston to shift the valveto a closed v"position, and a by-pass,opening at its upper and' lower ends into said tube, vthe pistonnormally closing the upper end of the by-pass when the valve 1s raisedbut the piston, when depressed and the valve seated, acting to open theIupper end of the by-pass whereby fluidl in the tube may pass around theby-pass and into thetube below the piston.

2. In a pump adapted for association with -a displacement .area a tubehaving a valve seat, inlet apertures in the tube below the valve seat,liquid outlet aperturesin the tube above thevalve seat into thedisplacement area, a valve' coacting with said seat, a piston disposedabove the valve, a by-pass surrounding the tube andopeningat its upperand lower ends thereinto, the piston when in a raised.positionclosingthe upper opening of the hy-pass, means operated by a downward movementof the-...piston under the action of pressurefluid initially' causingthe closing of the valve, the piston having further movementindependently of the valve after the latter has closed act-ing to passthe upper end of the by-pass to thus permit pressure fiuid to passthrough said by-pass into the tube below the piston and'then passdownward and outward into' the displacement zone, and means acting whenthe pressure of motive Huid on the piston is relieved causing the.initial return ofthe piston`to a position .closing the upper end of theby-pas's and causing the opening of. the valve.A I

3. The combination with a wellcasing, of

means for lifting liquidupward in the well 1 casing comprising a tubedisposed within thel well casingr and having a-liquid inletfa packingengaging'the well casingand tube above the inlet, 'the tubeabo've thepacking being formed with a valve seat,'and with ports immediately abovethe' lseat opening into the area between the tube and casing, 'a valvecoacting with this seat, a piston disposed above the valve, a by-passsleeve opening at its upper and lower ends into said tube, a seat forthe piston disposed above. the by-pass and 5 stopping the piston when ithas closed the" upper by-pass opening, a spring urging said pistonagainst said stop, the valve having a f stem extending through andsliding in the Y piston-.axidfgformed with a stop at its upper p l@ end,a spring surrounding the valve stem, the

piston having a stein loosely surrounding the f valve stem and bearingagainst said last l named spring.

4. The combination with a well casing, of

15 a centrally disposed tube, packing between the tube and the valvecasing, the tube below the packing having liquid inlet apertures andabove the packing havingV a valve seat, ports immediately above thevalve seat opening 2o into the space between the tube and the wellcasing and valve, a valve coacting with said e seat and having anupwardly extending stem having a stop at its upper end, a piston slid-.able on the-up er end of the stem, a stop 2o against which tlie istonnormally bears, the piston having a tubular stem through which the valvestem loosely passes, a spring4 surrounding the valve stem and bearingoperatively at one end against the valve and at'the other end bea-ringagainst said tubular piston stem, a compression spring disposed tosurround the tubular stem operatively supported at one end upon thetubular member and at the other end bearing against the piston andurging the piston upward against the stop, and a by-pass sleeve disposedaround the tubular member and opening atits upper and lower ends intothe tubular member, the upper end of the by-pass being normally aoclosed by the piston.

5. ln a pumping apparatus operated by the displacement of liquid byfluid under pressure, a casing having an outlet, a central pressure Huidconducting tube, packing disposed 'between the casing and the tube, the

space above the packing constituting a dis# placement space, the tubehaving liquid inlet ports below the packing, and a valve seat above 'thepacking, a valve adapted to rest on said seat, means normally preventingthe passage of pressure fluid through the ports to the displacementspaoe and holding the valve raised but acting upon an increase in fiuidpressure toclose the valve and'after the halve has closed opencommunication between the upper portion of the tube and said ports topermit the passage of Huid pressure to the displacement space and upon adecrease in fluid pressure acting to rst close said coni-l municationand then open the valve to permit passage of liquid to the displacementspace.

ln testimony whereof lhereunto afhx my signature.

o5 ROGER.Y C. BENNETT.

